European Research Project on Graphene Nanoelectronic Devices kicks off in 2008

(Nanowerk News) Will graphene really take the semiconductor industry towards
the “Beyond CMOS” era? Some answers to this key question are sought through
experiment and simulation in a European research project on Graphene-based
Nanoelectronic Devices called “GRAND”. The project starts January 1st, 2008 and is
coordinated by Nanotechnology specialist AMO GmbH in Aachen, Germany. The
partners of the consortium are AMO, the Italian Nanoelectronics network IUNET, CEALETI
from France, Tyndall National Institute (Ireland), Cambridge University (UK) and
ST Microelectronics (France).

The silicon semiconductor industry is the cornerstone of today’s high-tech economy.
Through continuous downsizing of components and cost reductions, it has fuelled other
industries for the past decades. Today the semiconductor industry is facing
fundamental challenges and severe economic constraints, and it is expected that the
historic trend of downscaling silicon devices will come to an end in about 10-15 years.

The major challenge is therefore to find alternatives for information processing and
storage beyond the limits of existing CMOS technology. Graphene, an atomic
monolayer of carbon, is particularly promising due its novel electronic properties. Initial
data indicates that graphene is a prime candidate for “Beyond CMOS” switches and
interconnects, and is, despite its revolutionary nature, complementary to conventional
CMOS. Its remarkable properties include potential for ballistic conductance at room
temperature, current densities exceeding those of current nanoscale interconnects and
carrier mobilities rivalling those of III-V devices at room temperature.

The GRAND project partners will investigate graphene towards its applicability for
nanoscale “Beyond CMOS” switches and local interconnects. The partners share an
extensive scientific and industrial background in nanoelectronic devices and a strong
history of collaboration at the European level. The consortium includes experimental,
analytic and theoretical groups, each with internationally acknowledged excellence in
their field. Coordinator AMO (DE) will use its flexible nano-CMOS process platform to
fabricate and characterize nanoscale graphene switches and interconnects. Partner
IUNET (IT) will contribute to the project by devoting its renowned expertise in device
modelling and simulation. CEA-LETI (FR) will focus its research on large scale
graphene fabrication. The Nanotechnology Group at Tyndall National Institute (IE)
provides a unique infrastructure for directed assembly of graphene crystallites and the
functionalization of edge states. The University of Cambridge Semiconductor Physics
group (UK) is ideally suited to detailed analysis and low temperature characterisation of
graphene devices. Industry partner ST Microelectronics (FR) will ensure a tight focus
on the future applicability and industrial relevance of the research.

Graphene provides the decisive potential of increasing computing performance,
functionality and communication speed far beyond the expected limits of conventional
CMOS technology. The GRAND consortium includes internationally renowned
experimental and theoretical groups from academia and industry, forming a
comprehensive unit with capabilities far beyond those of the individual partners. In
summary, this ensures a tight focus on the exploitation of the project results for the
European societies.

The GRAND project, complementary to the national BMBF (Bundesministerium für
Bildung und Forschung) NanoFutur project „ALEGRA“ (www.alegra.info), is supported
by the European Commission (EC) within the Seventh Framework Programme, Future
and Emerging Technologies, Proactive Intiative: Nano-Scale ICT Devices and Systems
under contract number 215752. (www.cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/fetproactive/
nanoict_en.html).

Further details of the projects’ objectives and the partners
can be found at www.grand-project.eu.